- Chase Briscoe secures his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole position at Michigan International Speedway.
- Briscoe’s lap of 195.514 mph edged out Kyle Busch, who will start alongside him on the front row.
- Briscoe also topped the practice session, leading a 1-2 performance by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe continued his impressive qualifying streak on Saturday morning, claiming his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole position for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2 p.m. ET, Prime Video, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Briscoe’s No. 19 JGR Toyota laid down a blistering lap of 195.514 mph, narrowly edging out Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, who will start alongside him on the front row with a lap of 195.317 mph in the No. 8 Chevrolet. This marks Busch’s best start of the season, matching his second-place qualifying effort at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I was surprised truthfully it held on,” the 30-year-old Indiana native said of his fast lap. “It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be just holding it wide open. But our Bass Pro Shops Toyota has been pretty fast in race trim and I thought we could have been even better. It will be nice starting up front and we’ve been able to do that now three weeks in a row but haven’t been able to execute with it, so hopefully third time is a charm and hopefully we can finally get one on Sunday.”
Briscoe’s accomplishment marks the first time a driver has won pole positions at three consecutive races since Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson achieved the feat last April at Richmond, Michigan, and Texas. In addition to his recent string of poles, Briscoe also secured the top starting spot for the season-opening Daytona 500 in his first season with the Gibbs organization.
Briscoe’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, was third quickest in the No. 11 Toyota and will start alongside current NASCAR Cup Series points leader William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Notably, neither Gibbs nor Hendrick has celebrated a victory at the 2-mile Michigan oval in a decade, with Hendrick’s last win coming in 2014 and Gibbs’ in 2015.
However, Hendrick’s lineup now includes three-time Michigan winner Kyle Larson, who scored his first series victory at the track in 2016 while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion will start fifth on Sunday, alongside another former Michigan winner, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who triumphed in 2023.
“I feel fine, that was an unfortunate part failure there,” Larson said, assuring he was unharmed after flipping his car in a World of Outlaws race Friday night. “Felt good there today and held it wide open in qualifying, as did the whole field. Hopefully, we can find a little more turn tomorrow. I think all of us being very similar on speed, it will be difficult in traffic so having some turn will be a benefit. That’s our main objective at this point.”
Defending race winner Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing qualified 12th, while last week’s Nashville race winner, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, suffered a tire problem in practice and will start 13th.
In the earlier practice session, Briscoe led a 1-2 performance by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, setting a best lap of 195.482 mph in his No. 19 JGR Toyota. He was just 0.016 seconds ahead of teammate Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, which clocked in with a second-fastest speed of 195.397 mph.
Three drivers encountered tire issues during practice: Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Shane van Gisbergen. Blaney and Reddick were able to return to the pits for repairs, while van Gisbergen limped back to pit road in the final minute of his group’s session.
With Briscoe’s dominant qualifying performance and strong showing in practice, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will look to translate his starting position into a long-awaited victory in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
